Removal of oak trees in downtown North Little Rock raises ire

City says safety the main reason

Stumps remain from two trees that were cut down in downtown North Little Rock.
Stumps remain from two trees that were cut down in downtown North Little Rock.

John Owens used to look out his North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce office window at huge willow oak and live oak trees that lined the chamber's parking lot.

One morning last week, nine of those trees were cut down, a decision made by North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith without any previous public notice. Four large oaks along Washington Avenue remain.

"I was not aware they were going to do that," Owens, the chamber's president and chief executive officer, said Thursday, the day after meeting with the mayor, along with four others from the downtown Argenta area concerned about the city's action.

"It's opened it up, which I think was the goal," Owens said of the new, unexpected view out his window, from where Verizon Arena is visible.

The destruction of the decades-old trees -- the largest had trunks 3 to 4 feet in circumference -- set off a firestorm of criticism on social media the past week, after chamber member Andy Hight posted photos of the downed trees a week ago on the Facebook page I Love North Little Rock! (Dogtown!) with the description "Argenta Massacre." Hight's father is City Council member Charlie Hight.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A map showing the location of Oak-tree removal in North Little Rock

The post had been shared 77 times by Thursday, with almost 350 "reactions" and more than 230 comments, the large majority being negative. Reaction had been so strong that city Communications Director Nathan Hamilton posted a lengthy explanation of the city's reasoning, then also emailed the same information to each City Council member Tuesday afternoon.

In an interview just before the Wednesday meeting about the trees, Smith said that, after visiting the city-owned parking lot where the trees were cut, he thought it "looks better."

"It opens up the view of the area," Smith said, adding that "safety first" was the primary reason among many considerations. Some of the trees needed to be removed in order to add more lighting, he said.

Nothing specific, or recent, led to his decision, Smith said. There haven't been any reports of crimes in the parking lot, though the mayor emphasized the public's safety for night events at the chamber or going to and from events at Verizon Arena and for city employees. Staff members in the City Services building and the city attorney's office also park in the lot.

"No, not really," Smith replied when asked if crime has become a problem. "And I want it to stay that way. A dark area lends itself to problems. I want everybody to feel comfortable when they come downtown.

"City Services folks have complained for years about that lot," Smith said, noting that, especially in winter, some staff members often leave after dark. "The bottom line is safety first. In fact, there are places where the sidewalk or the pavement is buckling up [from tree roots]."

Owens, who led the city's effort for a sales-tax increase that voters approved in an August special election, said that Smith told those in Wednesday's meeting that there are "no plans" to take down any more trees, but discussed where trees can be planted.

"We talked about possibly adding some trees down in Riverfront Park area once the [Broadway] bridge construction is done," Owens said. "We took time to talk about adding trees in the Pike Avenue area and the Riverfront Drive area. He said he wanted to explore adding some trees [by the River Trail] bike path."

Hamilton said in his written explanation that "disease, root space, termites, safety, aesthetic benefits, shade, health of the tree, curb appeal, privacy, property values and emotional connections" are all factors taken into account when trees are to be removed. He added that the city "could have done better communicating" about last week's tree cutting.

"I think there was misconception that the city was all about taking down trees," Hamilton said in an interview Thursday about the negative reactions. "We know how important trees are to a community."

While there isn't an immediate plan to add lights to the parking lot area where the trees once stood, Hamilton said that there is "definitely a plan to make this poorly lit area better."

"We certainly don't apologize for including safety as a factor in the decision," he said. "We don't take down trees just for the sake of taking down trees."

Metro on 12/08/2017

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